Despite considerable success in other fields, virtual reality simulation has had only limited success in the training of players of sports such as US football that take place on a playing field. This is largely due to the difficulty of creating a convincing and believable simulation of such a large and open environment.
For many applications that pertain to smaller and more confined environments, virtual reality simulation is well known as a powerful tool for strategy development and skill training. Military uses include the training of tank drivers and aircraft pilots. Some of these training simulations include complete battle simulations, with both real and simulated participants. Civilian applications include the training of private and commercial aircraft pilots, truck drivers, and automobile drivers.
Skills acquired from virtual reality simulations are most easily applied to real life when the simulations are highly convincing and realistic. Simulations of enclosed environments such as aircraft cockpits and automobile interiors have proven to be very successful in this regard, in part because the simulation apparatus can include a detailed physical replica, or “mock-up,” of the enclosed environment being simulated, and also because the simulation video may be projected onto the windows and windshields that naturally surround these environments.
In some of these applications, a helmet-mounted apparatus is used to augment the simulation by projecting additional simulated video directly onto the viewer's field of vision, using partially transmitting mirrors, liquid crystal displays, or other means placed directly in front of the viewer's eyes. This is generally done to provide brighter and higher definition video with a three-dimensional perspective. Means are included in these cases for sensing the movements of the viewer's head and adjusting the simulation accordingly.
In addition to strategy development and skill training, virtual reality simulation of enclosed environments such as aircraft, spacecraft, racing cars, and tanks has also proven to be a highly successful form of entertainment. However, because of the expense of providing a detailed and convincing simulation environment, these forms of entertainment have been confined to amusement parks and other venues where they are economically practical.
In the case of playing field sports such as US football, the environment is too large and too open to allow the use of a physically simulated mock-up environment. Instead, the viewer is typically placed inside a relatively small, enclosed space, sometimes called a “cave,” and views of the playing field are projected onto the blank walls and floor of the enclosure. Stereo-optical projection is sometimes employed, whereby the viewer wears special glasses in order to experience a pseudo three-dimensional effect. Although this approach provides for a simulation with a certain degree of realism, it is typically not able to achieve a convincing and believable effect comparable to simulations of more enclosed environments. In particular, this approach does not allow the viewer to move very far in any direction. This has hampered the ability of playing field sport simulations to convey skills that can be readily transferred to an actual playing field.